Dr Mountjoy’s study involves a new material based on titanium dioxide, which is the main pigment in white paint. Making use of the incredibly bright X-rays at Diamond Light Source, researchers can reveal previously unseen details in materials – much like looking at banknotes with ultraviolet light.

Using this technique, Dr Mountjoy is able to better understand how the atoms in the new material change positions when the memory is being written.

Dr Mountjoy is a member of Kent’s Functional Materials Group, which now features a number of other projects making use of X-rays to study new materials with a broad range of possible applications. These include another project by Dr Mountjoy to develop new materials for the safe storage of nuclear waste.